Over the winter holidays I got a shock. Dripping with distain, my 4-year old nephew touched a present under the tree and exclaimed, “What kind of a present is this? A book?” Wait a second, where is he getting this book-bad-rap? He loves books, he even reads to his 10-month old brother! This helped me understand… A dear friend called and apologized for giving me books for Christmas after reading an article that called books one of a 'top 5 most-hated presents' to receive. Curious, I asked the young adults in my family about their reading habits. They explained to me that they never actually read an entire book. Instead, they skim the digital summaries. (I’m thankful that at least this means they’re not reading the Twilight series.) Adults, meanwhile, told me they feel they have too little time for “deep reading,” a term coined in 1994 by Sven Birkerts in The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in the Electronic Age to describe “the slow and meditative possession of a book” that differs significantly from the email, blog and article skimming and scanning we often due each day. My Reading Fantasies I love reading and always have. Give me a good book and I’m completely … [Read more...]
Mainstreet Women’s Stories: Learning to Speak Out, Stand Up
When I asked Mainstreet Women about speaking out and standing up it wasn't because I’d love to see us all running around unfiltered, saying everything that pops into our minds. Clearly, the world would be a noisier and (even) less civilized place to live in if we did. I expected women to tell me there had been times when they wished they’d spoken up, stood up – that’s human, that’s me too. But from our Main Street perches of tremendous (consumer and citizen) power, within our nation that takes great pride in “free speech,” we’re not satisfied. We see social injustices, we worry for future generations, we’re struggling because of longstanding pay inequity, living with unequal power and responsibility at work and often, at home. Inequality is a fact of life in the U.S. and so is this: when women lead, the world improves. Yep, there’s scientific proof. Check out Dr. Amanda Nimon Peters’ stunning, short presentation that convincingly makes the case for women leading because families, companies, and countries benefit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCHBID8If-g Speaking out and standing up are integral to leading, to making this world a better place. And, research tells us … [Read more...]
